Our holdings include hundreds of glass and film negatives/transparencies that we've scanned ourselves; in addition, many other photos on this site were extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs) in the Library of Congress research archive. (To query the database click here.) They are adjusted, restored and reworked by your webmaster in accordance with his aesthetic sensibilities before being downsized and turned into the jpegs you see here. All of these images (including "derivative works") are protected by copyright laws of the United States and other jurisdictions and may not be sold, reproduced or otherwise used for commercial purposes without permission.

Cool Quartet: 1961

My sister-in-law, left, previously seen here with her Chevrolet Bel Air, in 1961 with her brother and friends in the foothills of the San Fernando Valley in Southern California. 35mm Kodachrome slide. View full size.

This was taken at the William Hart Ranch, now the William S. Hart Park and Museum, in Newhall, CA –- Deborah

This must be my week for William S. Hart, had a couple references to him on Facebook the last couple of days. Anyhow, William S. Hart was THE GREATEST of all western stars EVER. He started out as a very successful Broadway actor, and was known for his Shakespearean roles. But at the age of 49 (1914), he got into movies. He tried very hard to make his western films represent to true west that he had known in his youth in the 1870s and 80s. Great, great silent film actor. He was pretty passe by the late 20s, but his stature is assured in the movie pantheon. He did very well financially, and left his ranch as a museum and tourist destination.

Those haircuts were called Flattops With Fenders and they defied gravity. In retrospect, they look so innocent, neat and tidy after recalling the long stringy hairstyles that followed during the 1970s.

I drive past the Hart mansion several times a week. Though there has been development in the area since the photo was taken, the scene, as shot, hasn't really changed a great deal. Downtown Newhall looks much as it did 50 years ago. Drive a few miles to Valencia and the story is much different. Houses packed together on small lots, multiple Starbucks and all of the amenities of the SoCal lifestyle

Shorpy.com | History in HD is a vintage photo archive featuring thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1960s. (Available as fine-art prints from the Shorpy Archive.) The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.